


The First of the Underground

by TheCookieAlchemist



Series: Astrid Hawke: The Champion of Kirkwall [6]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22334950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCookieAlchemist/pseuds/TheCookieAlchemist
Summary: When Hawke decides to help Anders with his work on the Mage Underground, things don't exactly go as planned.
Relationships: Anders/Female Hawke
Series: Astrid Hawke: The Champion of Kirkwall [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607695
Kudos: 2





	1. I Told You So

Astrid Hawke looked around nervously.  _ This gets more nerve-wracking by the day,  _ she thought. Still, when Anders had asked her to help some mages who had been threatened with Tranquility by the craziest of Templars, she couldn’t help herself. If she could help them escape, then she would.  _ Stupid hero complex,  _ she thought. She’d much rather be playing cards with Varric and Isabela than risking her life in this creepy lyrium smuggling tunnel, but her desire to help her had overridden her sense yet again. 

“I think we’re safe,” Anders said, breaking Astrid away from her thoughts. “If Meredith was onto us, we’d know it by now.” 

“Don’t say stuff like that!” Astrid snapped. “Whenever someone says ‘I think we’re safe’ that’s when they end up getting caught!” 

“Varric tell you that?” Anders asked, half sarcastically. 

“What do you think?” Astrid retorted, chuckling. 

“Faster!” a familiar voice snapped behind them. “I know they came through here!” 

Astrid and Anders exchanged horrified looks.  _ Meredith,  _ they thought. “I told you so,” she said. 

“She’s caught us!” one of the mages exclaimed. 

“What do we do?” another cried. 

“Anders, take them and get out of here,” Astrid said. “I’ll distract them.” 

“By yourself?” Anders asked incredulously.

“I’m not a mage,” Astrid said, smiling despite the circumstances. “They won’t hurt me.” 

“I’m not leaving you!” he snapped. 

“And let these mages suffer?” she retorted. “They need you more than I do. Now go!”

Anders cast her a worried look, but did what she had told him too and ushered the fugitives further into the tunnel. Astrid, meanwhile, turned around to face their pursuers, an innocent smile on her face, and found herself facing five Templars, Meredith in the lead. 

“What...this isn’t the Rose!” Astrid exclaimed. “How in the Maker’s name did I end up  _ here?”  _

Meredith faces her with a steely glare. “You can’t play the fool with me, Hawke,” she said. “I know you were helping the apostates. Where are they?”

“Apostates? What apostates? I simply got lost on my way to the Rose and found myself in this tunnel,” Astrid said. 

“You are testing my patience.  _ Where are they?”  _

“You know,” Astrid began, an evil smile crossing her face. “Maybe  _ you  _ should visit the Blooming Rose sometime. You might get that stick out of your arse if you got something else in there.” 

The glare Meredith gave her would kill the faint of heart, but Astrid didn’t flinch. “I see you would like to be stubborn again,” she snapped. “Perhaps a night in the Gallows would loosen that smart tongue of yours.” 

“Heh! You can certainly try!” Astrid said. “But I’ll never talk. NEVER!” 

“You two, arrest her!” Meredith shouted to her lackeys. “The rest of us will find the fugitives!” She led the others further down the tunnel. 

_ Well, shit.  _ Astrid hadn’t thought about the idea that not all of them were needed to capture her.  _ What do I do now?  _

As one of the Templars shackled her wrists, she looked at him, frowning. “You know, as stylish as it looks, you really shouldn’t wear skirts with your armor.” Astrid moved a bit closer to him. “Because someone could do something like this!” 

She brought her knee straight into his crotch with as much force as she could, and he doubled over in pain. Astrid took the opportunity to jump away from him, narrowly missing his friend’s sword in the process. Moving into a forward roll was rather awkward with her hands bound, but she managed to get around to his back and push him over. It wasn’t enough to hurt him with heavy armor on, but it was enough to slow him down long enough for Astrid to rush back to the other man, just starting to stand, and pull him up, wrapping the chains binding her around his neck to find herself surrounded by three extra Templar swords.  _ Perfect.  _

“Well, I’m in deep shit, aren’t I?” Astrid said, staring at Meredith while still holding her lackey hostage. “Truce?” 

The butt of Meredith’s sword slammed into her head, and the world went black. 


	2. Tormenting a Templar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even when she's been locked up, Astrid can still torment a hapless Templar guard.

_ I have to say, she’s a lot less annoying this way,  _ Ser Robert thought, standing guard at Hawke’s cell. He got the idea that if Meredith hadn’t knocked her out, she would have talked the whole way here. 

He had heard about Astrid Hawke before, at least a little bit. She had caused quite a fuss when she had returned from the Deep Roads with a huge pile of treasure and bought the old Amell estate. To some, she was a bit of a hero, a refugee who had done well for herself despite her rough start. To others - mostly Kirkwall’s nobility - she was a jumped-up Ferelden dog who got lucky. 

And as for Robert?  _ She’s a criminal,  _ he thought. She had obviously harbored apostates and resisted arrest. Not to mention what she did to poor Ser Brendan. 

A groan interrupted his thoughts; Hawke was beginning to stir. Opening her eyes, she sat up, looking at her surroundings and the irons around her wrists and ankles. Then she looked right up at Robert, a disappointed look on her face. 

“Why does this kind of thing keep happening to me?” she asked. 

“You’re a criminal,” Robert said curtly. “Criminals are supposed to be in prison.” 

“I know you!” Hawke said, smiling as she looked up at him. “Aren’t you that Templar I kicked in the manhood?” 

“That was Ser Brendan. I am Ser Robert,” he said. 

“Sorry,” Hawke said. “You all kind of look the same to me, what with the skirts and all.” 

Robert sighed. “Cullen said you had a smart mouth,” he said. “It won’t save you when Meredith comes.” 

“Ooh, I’m scared now!” Hawke said sarcastically. “So what kind of horrific torture does she have planned for me? Flogging? Thumbscrews? Or maybe she’ll break out the blood magic,” she said, laughing. “Wouldn’t that be ironic?” 

“Meredith is a faithful servant of the Chantry and the Maker!” Robert snapped. “She would never resort to such vile arts!” 

“It was a  _ joke _ ,” Hawke said. “Do all you Templars have sticks up your arses, or is it just the ones I know?”

_ Maker give me strength.  _ “If you don’t shut up, I will gag you,” Robert threatened. 

“Seems a bit counterproductive for someone you want information from,” Hawke argued. “Besides, it’s  _ boring  _ down here. Your riveting company is quite a nice distraction.” 

“Really? Because I personally preferred you when you were unconscious,” Robert grumbled. 

“Well that’s hurtful,” Hawke said, frowning. “But fine. If you don’t want to talk, I won’t talk.” 

_ Finally.  _ “Although, if you  _ really _ want to pass the time...” Hawke began, filling Robert with dread, “we’re down here alone and I’m already in chains.” She gave Robert an almost seductive smirk that made his stomach turn. “Want to come in here and play ‘the naughty mage and the helpless recruit?’ I heard it was pretty popular in other Circles.” 

Robert turned bright red and glared at her, but was fortunately spared answering her by footsteps coming down the hall. Meredith stalked up to the cell and fixed Robert with an icy glare. 

“Has she talked?” she asked. 

“She hasn’t stopped talking,” Robert said, groaning. Meredith seemed to know that it wasn’t about what she wanted to know. She fixed her glare on Hawke, still leaning casually against the wall, a cocky smile on her face. 

“Meredith! I was wondering when you’d get here!” Hawke exclaimed. “Is it time for the torture to start?” 

“There will be no torture,” Meredith said curtly. “You will tell me where the fugitives are or  _ he  _ will suffer.” 

Hawke’s smile vanished. “Who?” she asked, hesitant. 

“The apostate. In Darktown. Don’t think I don’t know about him,” Meredith said. “You will tell me where the fugitives are or I will kill him.” 

All the color seemed to drain from Hawke’s face. She stood up, shuffling to the front of the cell to glare at Meredith. “Threatening him to get to me? That’s  _ low,  _ even for you,” she snapped. 

“I will not pursue him if you tell me what I want to know,” Meredith said. 

Hawke seemed to know her threats were serious. She hung her head, defeated. “There is a camp. Up north, on the Wounded Coast. That’s where we’ve been hiding them.” 

“If you are lying, the apostate will pay,” Meredith said. “Come! We are going to find them!” 

As Robert followed the Knight-Commander, he caught one last glimpse of Hawke, glaring at him through the bars. 

“You best start praying,” she snapped. “You’re going to need it.” 


End file.
